Wardrobe-trunk.



G. H. WHEARY.

WARDROBE TRUNK.

APPLICATION FILED DBO.10, 1910.

PatentedFeb. 4, 1913;

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WARDROBE TRUNK.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 10, 1910.

Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

GEORGE H. WHEARY, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN.

WARDROBE-TRUNh Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 4,1913.

Application filed December 10, 1910. Serial No. 596,600.

To all whom it may concern:

.Beit known that I, GEORGE H. \VHEARY, a citizen of theUnited States ofAmerica, and resident of Racine, Racine c0u11ty, isconsin, have inventeda certain new and use ful Improvement in lVardrobe-Trunks, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to wardrobe trunks of the kind in which the clotheshangers are supported on an extensible rack or frame disposed under adoor or cover for one end of the trunk, or for one end of the tray orother receptacle in which the hangers are carried, which door or covercan be t-raisecl and opened after the trunk is opened, whereby theclothing is held firmly in place whilethe trunk is closed, and after thesaid door or cover has first been closed and locked against the clothingresting upon the tops of the said hangers. This method of packing thetrunk is often necessary when the clothing is too long for the trunk, itbeing possible in such cases to fold the clothes upward and over thetops of the hangers, which latter are made especially for this purpose,being provided with upper portions which combine to form a practicallyflat surface upon which the folded portions .of the clothing can bespread out flat and held in such condition by the clamping action ofsaid door or cover, thus enabling the-user to obtain satisfactoryresults with a trunk which is comparatively small.

An object of my invention is to provide means whereby the saidrack orframe may be iised as a c0mbined. lever and locking device for pullingthe said door or cover closed against the pressure of the clothing, and

looking the same in place when thus closed, whereby the said door orcover is more easily closed. when the trunk is full, and whereby theopening or unfolding of the said rackor frame serves automat said dooror cover.

Another object is to provide the folding orswingingportion of said rackor frame ically to unlock the .with improved spring means for yieldinglyholding-orv clamping the clothing in place inthe trunk.

Tothese and other useful ends, my invention consists in mattershereinafter set forth and claimed.

In. the accompanying drawings-Figure l is a perspective of atrunkembodying the'principles of my invention, showing the and the frame or.d is held in such same entirely open and ready for packing. F 1g. 2 isa perspective of the upper end of the trunk, when the same is standingon end, showing the manner in which the hanger rack is folded to drawdown the cover or end door of the trunk. Fig. 3 is an enlarged frontelevation of the springpressed clamping bar which is carried on theouter end of the hanger rack or frame, and which holds the clothing inplace when thet-runk is closed. Fig. i is an enlarged detail sectionalview of a portion of the door or cover shown in Fig. 2, showing aportion of one of the hooks that are mounted on the said rack or frame,and which engage said door or cover to pull the same down upon theclothing resting on the top of the hangers. Fig. 5 is a view similar toFig. 1, showing the end door or cover closed rack folded into the trunk,the said door or cover being locked in this position by the hooks on thesaid rack or hanger.

As thus illustrated, the trunk is composed of sections A and B, thelatter serving as the usual cover, and the trunk being opened byswinging the two sections apart, in the manner shown in Fig. 1. Afterthe trunk is thus opened, then the cover or end door C is released byopening out or unfolding the frame or rack D. This door or cover C ishinged to the back wallaof the trunk, and has a slotted brace 0 forholding it open. The frame or rack D is disposed immediately below saiddoor or cover, and has a pair of pivotal or hinge connections d wherebyits outer section d may swing up and down, when the trunk is standing onend, as shown in Fig. 1. When raised, the section braces d that catch onthe lugs 03 on the inside of the/trunk: The swinging section 03 isprovided with pivoted hooks d that are adapted to engage recesses 0 inthe door or cover C to pull the latter down into place, when the frame'D is folded into the trunk, as shown in F ig. '2. In thisway the rack orframe section (1 serves as a lever to enable the user to easily closethe door or cover C, when the trunk is loaded.-

The frame or rack D is provided with parallel tracks or rods 03upon-which the bars E are supported said bars having notches e thatengage said tracks or rods, whereby the said bars can be separated whenthe trunk is opened and the rack unfolded.

position by the. pivoted 'l'hcsc bars are preferably covered with cloththe trunk can be handled in packing and so that clothing may restthereon. Each serves as the top of a hanger e. of any suitablecharacter, and 1f the dre ses or other clothing supported on thesehangers are too i long for the trunk, the lower ends thereof can bebrought up and laid over the said bars E. form a sort of table uponwhich portions of In this way the bars E combine to the clothing can hesupported and clamped t firmly in place by the cover or door C. The

section (Z has a bar F that slideon the rods f. and which backed by thesprings f. hen the rack D is folded, the bar F yieldingly bears againstthe dresses or other clothing in the trunk and holds the same in place.If the trunk is quite full, and if there is much clothing on top of thebars E, then the cover or door C will have to be forced down, but thisis easily done by reason of the leverage exerted by the frame section(7' when the rack D is folded or closed. This is by reason of the factthat the hooks 17* are long enough to engage the recesses 0' before thedoor C is fully or entirely closed, and consequently the final closureis effected by the folding of the rack. The hooks cl constitute the solemeans for locking the cover C inplace, so that the latter can be opened,even when the two trunk sections A and B are open and standing closetogether. The said hooks can, after the trunk is opened and the rack Dunfolded, be dis engaged from the cover C to permit the latter to beopened.

From the foregoing it willbe seen that I provide a construction wherebythe clothing is held firmly in place in the trunk, and whereby theopening and closing of the trunk is greatly facilitated, thus Very muchincreasing the convenience with which unpacking.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a trunk, a swinging door, a folding rack, and means on said rackfor engaging said door when said door is partially closed to forciblyclose and lock the door in place when the rack is folded.

2. ln a trunk, a swinging door, a folding hanger rack, and means on saidrack r engaging said door, when the rack is folded. and when said dooris partially closed, to forcibly close and lock the door in place, saidmeans consisting of hooks pivoted on the rack and adapted to bedisengaged from said door, when the latter is opened, substantially asdescribed.

In a trunk, a swinging door or closure, a pivotal member, and means onsaid memher for engaging said door or closure When said door ispartially closed. whereby said member serves as a lever with its pivotas a fulcrum, for forcibly closing said door or cover.

4. A wardrobe trunk provided with a door or cover, a foldin hanger rack.and means operated by the folding of said rack when said cover ispartially closed, for closing said door against the contents of thetrunk.

5. In a trunk, a swinging door, a folding rack, a pair of hooks'carriedby said rack and adapted to engage said door when said door is partiallyclosed, whereby said door is forcibly closed and locked in place whensaid rack is folded.

' Signed by'me at Racine; Wisconsin, this 30th day of November 1910.

GEORGE H. WYIEARY.

Witnesses:

MAX BLooH, CLINT D. FRAZELL.

